California Surveyors Forums

At the last Board Meeting, I was told there is a Government Code that states all counties must have a County Surveyor. I find other items pertaining to a County Surveyor, but not the code that mandates the position.

Good timing, cause the powers that be are now asking for my knowledge to reference the Government Code that states the mandate for counties to have a County Surveyor. My searches for that specific item has elluded me.

I'm hoping with the situation down in LA County, this should be a simple task.


Thank you in advance,
Keith Nofield, PLS

I'm not able to find a statute mandating that counties have a County Surveyor, but I found one implying that there is no such mandate. §20406 of the Public Contract Code states, in part:

"20406. If the board of supervisors is advised by the county surveyor or, in a county not having a county surveyor, by the officer having similar duties and authority..."

The notion that a county can choose not to have a County Surveyor begs the question: What is the effect of the statutes that imply the presence of a County Surveyor, e.g. §8766 of the B&P Code?

Great post! I look forward to the responses.

.

Yes Jim,
There are a good number of codes which imply that there is an office of the County Surveyor, but where is the list of these Official Offices?

Govt Code sections 24000 & 27550


CALIFORNIA CODES
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 24000-

24000. The officers of a county are:
(a) A district attorney.
(b) A sheriff.
(c) A county clerk.
(d) A controller.
(e) An auditor, who shall be ex officio controller.
(f) A treasurer.
(g) A recorder.
(h) A license collector.
(i) A tax collector, who shall be ex officio license collector.
(j) An assessor.
(k) A superintendent of schools.
(l) A public administrator.
(m) A coroner.
(n) A surveyor.
(o) Members of the board of supervisors.
(p) A county veterinarian.
(q) A fish and game warden.
(r) A county librarian.
(s) A county health officer.
(t) An administrative officer.
(u) A director of finance.
(v) A road commissioner.
(w) A public guardian.
(x) Such other officers as are provided by law.

CALIFORNIA CODES
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 27550




27550. The surveyor shall be a person authorized to practice land
surveying in this state. The surveyor shall be elected in the same
manner and for the same term as other county officers unless the
board of supervisors of the county shall have provided by ordinance
for his or her appointment by the board. If so appointed, the
surveyor shall serve at the will of the board.

Thank you, thank you!
I had seen that list years ago, but my current search was only coming up with Section 24300, talking about the consolidation of offices.

Hummm......what about counties that can't afford one? Yuba County, for example.

Lee,
What is the population size of Yuba?
There are exceptions in the Government Code pertaining to smaller counties.
As previously mentioned, there is also an oppertunity for the county to consolodate offices.

Hope this helps, if not, maybe you should investigate the counties position.

Good luck.

Cant help on the requirement, I know the County of San Bernardino fired theirs about 15 years ago and moved the survey and survey records to the outskirts of town. Haven't been there in years so I dont know the currant situation.

Small counties could hire a private surveyor on a contract basis. Many cities do this with Engineers.

As usual, the govt motto is "Do as we say, not as we do".

San Bernardino has had a County Surveyor for at least the last 15 years (currently Mike Raihle) and their office is about 1 mile out of downtown San Bernardino. They have online research and downloads also.